Just a little shoujo-ai I thought up when I was drunk at four in the morning on New Year's Day. Stopped me getting a hangover, even if it didn't erase the embarrassing footage of me dancing like a moron on my cousin's phone. Oh well…

I'm not following the manga or anime in particular with this, but in terms of Rei and Minako's storyline, it may lean more towards the manga. From what I've heard. Haven't read them personally. - Rolls eyes - Yes, I know, bad me.

Oh, and I haven't watched the series properly since I was seven, so if I screw up any facts in this then bear with me as I make my way through boxsets one and two, and I'd be happy to hear any input, provided that it is constructive and not just a rant. You'll notice I have actually tried to exclude any information about the actual saving-the-world storyline anyway, because I am so very aware that I KNOW NOTHING.

And finally, I apologise if there's any confusion with this. My mind works better on cinematic value, so there's a lot of jumping around in time. This chapter gets over the worst of it though, so if you can handle this, you'll be fine.

What am I forgetting?

Oh, right:

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. If anything, Sailor Moon owns me.

Drink Up, 'Fess Up, Throw Up

--- PRESENT DAY (AFTER THE PARTY) ---

Sometimes it takes more than just reactive courage to get what you want. Occasionally, much like with the coconut stand at the fair (except without superglue on the undersides), you need to HIT the bottle before you can actually GET the bottle, and so, one summer, Ami Mizuno did exactly that.

It was an accident of course. To gain entry to a medical school, yes, to win first place in a chess tournament, yes; but no, Ami would never actually aim to get drunk. It was ironically the fact that she had never gotten even tipsy before in her life that was her downfall, because at your own eighteenth birthday party you cannot avoid alcohol. And at a collective eighteenth birthday party for five people, you DEFINITELY can't avoid alcohol.

Around exactly the same time the year before, the Inner Senshi had concluded that they would all probably end up doing family stuff for their actual birthdays. This coupled with the fact that they all wanted to get each other über-awesome (and thus über-expensive) presents, meant that spending money on five separate party arrangements was just not an option. And so, that August, following Usagi's birthday – and actually approaching Ami's nineteenth anyway – they decided to celebrate all the occasions together in one fell swoop (which, looking back, was probably more 'fell' than 'swoop').

Quite a lot of revelations were made that day. So let us travel back, back, back, damnit, back in time. Now, Minako has never been good at sticking in the past tense when she's narrating, and she's getting a little bit tired of talking about herself in the third person. This alone is enough for her to want to disrupt the space-time continuum in a totally fictitious way. Then again, she was the ringleader in a group of slightly whorish sailor-suit clad teenaged heroines, whose past lives on some other random life-supporting planet we've never heard of, came back to bite them in the asses; so really she's justified to do what the hell she wants.

So…

--- AT THE PARTY – MINAKO'S P.O.V. ---

Presently Usagi is stood on the coffee table with a very drunk Ami, singing along loudly to a pop record that's bad even by my standards. This would be all well and good if Usagi wasn't absolutely stone-sober, having arrived ten minutes ago after she lost track of time with Mamoru.

She'd spent most of the day with him beforehand, and Makoto and I had listened starry-eyed as she explained how her boyfriend had out-romanced himself once again. A picnic at ten, a secluded café with a view for a late lunch, and a nice restaurant booked for the evening. All about the food. He knows her so well. Either that or he wanted to make sure she'd eaten plenty to absorb all the alcohol she would no doubt consume later. Then again, that still indicates that he knows her well.

A total klutz, dense as they get, and too gullible for words, yet somehow it combines to make someone so sweet and innocent that people fall in love with her easily. And lots of people are in love with Usagi. Mamoru, Rei…

Don't be so shocked, I've come to accept it. The teasing, the squabbling, it's all just Rei trying to express how she feels without letting her guard down. It stings of course, and maybe a vindictive part of me is soothed by the fact that her love for Usagi is like my love for her – unrequited; impossible. Ironically we've been brought closer together because of our shared unspoken obsessions, and I've learned that distance gets me nowhere regardless. So I've stopped struggling. If I can only be her best friend, then so be it.

Where is she anyway?

--- THE MORNING OF THE PARTY ---

The shrine glowed in the sunlight as a raven-haired figure swept the steps of her home. Her birthday had passed way back in April, but it nonetheless made her the second youngest of the Senshi, a fact that through sarcasm and excessive self-discipline she made sure they forgot.

She remembered a present from someone in particular that day, and she moved the charm bracelet restlessly between her fingers, so very aware of what she had to do at some point in the future. Something she desperately didn't want to. There's brave, and then there's brave, and Rei wasn't quite both of those just yet.

Somehow she found herself in her room, and for the thousandth time picked up the picture on her bedside table. It was a photo of her friends and her, most notably a blonde clowning around in the foreground.

What a ditz.

She stared hard at it, at the face of the person she cared most deeply for, until the shrill interruption of the telephone drew her from her reverie.

"Moshi-moshi."

"Hey, how's my Rei-chan?"

"You want something. I know you want something."

"Why do you always-?"

"Spill it."

"Okay, it's just that my parents aren't going away after all, so I was wondering if-"

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

"Whahahyyyy?"

Rei rolled her eyes at Minako's childish whining and walked off with the cordless phone down the hall.

"Because it's a place of worship! You can't just- WAH!"

She slid the screen door to the living room across to find Minako had already decorated it from top to bottom with balloons and streamers. The Flame Senshi glared and Mina sweat-dropped with a nervous grin. She dropped her cell and ran for it.

"Where in Kami's name do you think you're going? And if you think I'm gonna help you lug the food up here you can think again you little sneak!"

--- AFTERNOON OF THE PARTY – AMI'S ARRIVAL ---

"Ami!"

Minako barrelled into the bluenette and threw her arms around her neck. As usual the coy genius had absolutely no idea what to do in response to this, and so she just patted her back and looked over the blonde's shoulder to smile at Rei, who made a gesture towards the Love Senshi with her eyes. Ami grinned knowingly in spite of herself.

"Hey, guys, the food's almost ready."

Someone emerged from the kitchen and the grin faded to a completely uncharacteristic look of stupor.

"Hey, Ami-chan!"

--- FLASHBACK – JANUARY - STUDYING AT REI'S ---

The girls were crashing at Rei's for yet another study session. They were one woman down, however, since Makoto was either an hour late or not showing, and thus the atmosphere had been shot down considerably. Without the chef around, Usagi had been reduced to sulking in a corner, and had presently taken to fidgeting, occasionally accompanied by loud "hmph" sounds and frighteningly frequent stomach growls.

As she did this, Ami watched Rei look up ever now and again and glare dangerously at the future princess, despite the blonde's being absolutely oblivious to it. Leaning against the same wall as Rei was Minako, the eyes of whom, the Ice Senshi noticed, would occasionally drift between the miko and the direction of her stare.

Suddenly she heard the sound of the main screen door of the shrine being slid across with less than what one would consider to be TLC, two rebounding sounds that Ami pictured to be shoes flung off with considerable force, and the frantic padding and skidding of socks on a wooden floor. Finally Makoto shot headlong into the room and very nearly fell on top of the observant bookworm, who turned a light shade of pink at being caught so off-guard by her crush in such close range.

"Ami!" came the panted greeting-sans-pleasantries as the tall brunette gripped her shoulders, and the smaller girl felt electricity course over her peripheral nervous system. "Do you…" - Makoto swallowed in an attempt to soothe her throat after the sprint – "do you have a copy of the homework sheet for math?"

Dumbstruck, Ami just nodded. Off the top of her head (though where that had disappeared to was anyone's guess) she couldn't remember which sheet she meant, but she knew as well as everyone else in the room that she was bound to have it, and so a positive response seemed the best course of action.

"Oh, God, thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you! I looked everywhere for it! Mmmmwah!"

The young athlete pushed off from Ami and fell back on floor, laughing slightly crazily with relief. Ami just stayed in the exact same position as when she had been so unexpectedly assaulted.

That did not just happen. That did not just happen.

The rest of the world became a blur, but her friends were heading into the kitchen with Usagi in the lead. This implied they were off to get food, for which Sailor Mercury was grateful. She touched her cheek where Makoto had kissed it, which along with the rest of her face had gone completely crimson, and decided to edge outside to attempt to clear her head while the others were distracted.

What she hadn't noticed in her daze was the amethyst-eyed girl watching her from the doorway.

--- END FLASHBACK ---

--- AFTERNOON OF THE PARTY ---

"So, Ami-chan! What would you like?" asked Minako, brandishing two different bottles of alcohol in each hand and waving them frantically.

"This one, or this one, or…"

"Neither," Rei spoke for Ami, and the shorter girl was inwardly glad for the heat to be taken off her.

"If she doesn't want to drink, then leave her alone."

Her eyes closed in an irritated expression. "Of course, technically no-one should be drinking. BECAUSE IT'S A SHRINE!"

She grabbed one of the bottles from Mina's hand and smacked her upside the head with it repeatedly.

"YOW! Jeez! Pissy much…" muttered the Love Senshi, and wandered off to the kitchen again as she held the back of her head.

Rei felt a mild guilt overcome her, but looked back at Ami and resolved to deal with one issue at a time.

"You okay?" she asked kindly.

"Uh huh." Ami smiled.

"Sorry if you actually did want something to drink, it's just that Mina and Usagi go to parties way more than the rest of us, so they can get a little pushy when it comes to this stuff. If there's anything you want then just ask me."

Ami thought for a moment.

"Well, it is a special occasion, so I should really drink something. What do you drink, Rei?"

"Mostly wines, and that's normally at restaurants. Never around here, as you've heard me stress time and time again." She sweat-dropped and Ami laughed.

"Alright then, I'll have wine, please."

"Okay then… uh… I hope white's okay. I just think that Usagi and substances that stain should generally remain out of the same vicinity…"

"Sure."

--- FLASHBACK – JANUARY – STUDYING AT REI'S ---

"Are you going to tell her?"

A cool voice sounded behind Ami in the biting January air and she turned, startled, to see Rei, long black hair swaying slightly in the whispering breeze.

"Tell who what?"

"Come on, Ami, you're smarter than that." She gave her a meaningful look and Ami resigned from hiding. Rei had that effect on you, despite the fact that she hid more than anyone.

She watched her friend resume looking out at the horizon, and felt a sudden closeness to her.

Too soft a topic for eye contact, huh? she thought to the Fire Senshi. That makes two of us.

There was an extended silence between them until Ami responded to the original question honestly.

"I don't know. What about you?"

Rei turned her sharp gaze towards her, which the mastermind foresaw and consequently met.

"Huh?"

"Come on, Rei," Ami smiled congenially, "you're smarter than that."

Rei stared at her steadily, if not quite prepared for this comeback. After a few moments she just looked down with a hint of a troubled expression on an otherwise unreadable face.

--- END FLASHBACK ---

So what do you think, guys? R&R!